“battle of Himarra“dominates Sunday’s municipal elections in Albania and it is expected to be difficult.

Albanian PM personally leads operation to politically and morally discredit expatriate candidate Freddie Belleris. To the extent that he threatens (yesterday’s speech at a rally in Tirana) that he will “report personally” to him the next day.

it’s like oh Kyriakos Mitsotakisor any other Greek Prime Minister, as a hooligan unleashing threats against the mayoral candidate of the Muslim minority in Thrace.

Rama’s threat was followed by midnight arrest of Beleris in Heimarrwith an accusation of “vote buying” and no one can predict what might happen before Sunday evening or even the next day.

Because even if an expatriate candidate is elected, minorities fear that Rama is ready to step up. Plan Bfor his expulsion from the mayor’s office.

Perhaps this is what the Albanian prime minister had in mind when he spoke of the threat of a purge. “personal” accounts, although for the Albanians such rhetoric from the lips of their leader is not at all a surprise. They heard worse.

But why such a furious reaction to preventing the election of a Greek immigrant, a citizen of Albania, to the post of mayor of Heimarra? And why are they not at all concerned about nominations, including minorities, in Dropopolis or Phoenicia;

If you believe the minority shareholders, Beleris candidacy is registered with me for the first time. claims a dynamic victory. So what; This is where history, geography, geopolitics and, finally, strong economic (tourism) interests come into play. Heimarra was an eternal stronghold of Hellenism and has always been a bone of contention with Albanian nationalism because of its geographical location.

His array along with his island Corfu on the contrary, they “observe” from their position (and, if necessary, “control”) the “straits of Corfu”, i.e. sea ​​channel from the Adriatic to Ionia and back.

In addition, Heimarra has a natural appearance and can simultaneously “control” the most important navigation passage of Otranto, that is, up and down the Adriatic towards the central Mediterranean.

Two points of high geostrategic importance thanks to the checkpointwith the Greek population facing each other, in a sensitive area for both countries, leaves the Albanians feeling insecure at critical times.

Hence the reason for the “crossing of Corfu”, that is, both Agio Saranda and Himarra were not included in the so-called minority zones.

Against the background of the geopolitical picture, Albanian concerns about Himarra intensified in the post-Khoja era, when the borders were opened and the Greek minority showed libertarian tendencies, and the border map of the Balkans was called into question.

In Heimarra, while expatriates, i.e. those who did not leave for Greece, were asserting their property, rights and traditions, there was growing suspicion among the political and intellectual elite of Tirana of the “unrecognized views” of the Greek minority.

Sometimes minorities complained Albanian government strategies to seize their land so that they were forced to leave it and thus change the composition of the population of Himarra in favor of the Albanians and break the ethnic unity with the opposite.

Even today, the controversy continues with occasional clashes, incidents to prevent demolitions, and such a battle is essentially fought on Sunday at the polls.

Because who has it mayor, also has a very powerful weapon. What the ballot box will give out is unknown. There are even concerns about whether the vote will pass and how.

TO Beleri in jailif the Albanian authorities decide to detain him, the ballot box will be set up in an explosive atmosphere.

The Albanians have added seven-eighths of the purely Albanian villages to the municipality, which could turn the tide in favor of the Rama-elected party, which is also in the minority and has three more terms as mayor.

Those who belong to the minority count on the arrival of the Himarriots who live and work in Greece. The information said that about two thousand voters were sent to Albania.

The meeting is expected to be controversial, and however the arrest and prosecution of the minority candidate develops, they can only add another gray point to Greek-Albanian relations.